Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mailbox!

I live in a very rural area. Until recently, the post office did not deliver mail to some neighborhoods in my town. Mine was one of them. I collect my mail from a box at the post office. I don't mind, it's been that way since I moved here. In fact, for most of my life, I've had a P.O. box.

Well, the times, they are a-changin'.

In the 25 years since I moved here, my town has grown. With the growth came a steady demand for post office boxes. In answer to that demand, the postmaster has decreed that rural delivery will now be available in my neighborhood. I can put a mailbox on my front lawn and a mail person will put my mail there. This is a completely foreign notion to me.

My neighbors love the idea.

The hardware store sold out of post hole diggers in the first day or two. The store manager had to order mailboxes because he had only three in stock. The mailman had to learn 100 new names and addresses. It was mayhem. Pandemonium broke loose. At least that's what it seemed like to me when I went to the hardware store to get clothesline.

I'm not certain I want to have a mailbox on my lawn. Sure, I would appreciate the convenience of having to walk only to the end of the driveway. But my driveway is actually longer than my street! I may as well drive to the mail box! And If I have to drive to the mailbox, I should just continue the half mile to the post office and get my mail.

There's a catch, to keep my post office box, I am required to pay an annual fee. That's okay with me. After I pay my fee, I can hang out all winter and watch my neighbors clear the paths to their mail boxes!

Am I lazy? You can bet on it!

3 comments:

  1. Well, the trend here in Friday Harbor is to put all the mailboxes together at one end of the street. Even though I live in a house, I have a box number, because every house in this subdivision has their mailbox down the street at the entrance.

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  2. LOL! Well, I'll tell ya this... no sooner will those new mailboxes go up than some teenagers will come driving by with a baseball bat and... WELL! That's what RURAL kids like to DO! I'd keep my P.O. Box too!

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  3. Get the mailbox that looks like a giant fish! And put it on a metal post with the end sticking up -- teenagers might try to bash it but usually after one crack at this they leave your mailbox alone ;)

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